Interior Design for Moms: 7 Tips

February 11, 2012

There are probably two main words that describe Moms today: busy and careful. Besides the multitude of duties Moms have around the house, most today also work outside of the home. And of course, Moms worry about keeping their children safe at all times.

Therefore, in most aspects of most Moms’ lives, including decorating, those two descriptors have to stay in the forefront of their thoughts. Here are some decorating tips that make life easy for busy Moms and keep the safety of their children a priority:

Whatever you put in the house should be not only decorative, but easy to clean. Save the glowing chandeliers for your empty nest and use pretty but simple lines when decorating: think wrought iron instead of crystal.

Decorate with your day in mind. Face it, you rush out the door in the morning, so having a lovely plant or statue at the entrance is just plain impractical. You need a table next to the door that acts as a takeoff spot for your day. Keys, things you have to bring to work, lists, etc. need to be at the ready. You can clear the table off for company.

Think about flow as well. There is actually a division of management design that concentrates on how workers or employees move through an organization. Smart Moms have to apply that same concept to the home. A coffee table can’t be too close to an entrance door, for example, for rushing kids to crash into whenever they enter the home.

Keep surfaces as clear as possible. This may be another dream that has to be deferred until ATCAG (after the children are grown). Knickknacks on shelves have to be dusted; canister sets on kitchen counters slow down after dinner cleanups; vases or sculptures on coffee tables are going to be kicked off. Put bound books or a few large items on shelves; keep flour and sugar in plastic containers in the cabinet and put an attractive, but low and unbreakable item to decorate a coffee table, such as a pretty tray or book.

Forego the pillows. We all love the Calvin Klein look, with multitudes of pillows strewn on the bed, but do you really want to take them off each night and put them on each morning? Buy a pretty spread with matching shams and the bed is done in an instant. Keep children’s bedding sets as simple as possible, with just a spread they can pull up, and a matching pillow that can just be placed at the head. Today’s designs make this look as pretty as it is simple.

Think hard and long about your choice of floors. This is a difficult decision. Wood floors with a few rugs placed strategically are easy to clean with a quick swipe with the dust mop, but this has to be done frequently because every speck shows. Carpeting has to be vacuumed less often but is a more time consuming job. I love the clean light look of wood floors, so I’ll put up with having to dust them every other day.

Consider floor lamps instead of lamps. Lamps on end tables make nice accents, but, unless they have very modern lines, need frequent dusting. They are also another target for kids to crash into. Tall, slim floor lamps require less cleaning and are neatly tucked away in a corner.

These are just a few tips, but if you use them as examples, you can come up with many more ideas that meet your top criteria: ease and safety.

As a busy mom, you know two things. One, saving time is always a good thing and two, the best friends you can have are other moms. Try finding more moms like you with a quick and easy people search.